Leaders as Collaborators and Communicators in the 21 st Century

1. Leaders as Collaborators and Communicators in the 21st Century ASBSD/SASD 2010Friday August 13, 2010 Sioux Falls Convention Center ASBSD/SASD 2010

2. Contact Information tim.mitchell@k12.sd.us http://rcassuperintendent.wikispaces.com/ www.rcas.org

3. Purposeful Community A purposeful community is one with the collective efficacy and capability to develop and use assets to accomplish purpose and produce outcomes that matter to all community members through agreed-upon process

4. Agreed-upon Processes Are the processes that lead to patterns of communication, relationships among community members, a sense of well-being, connections between the school and other institutions, shared leadership opportunities, and a sense of order and discipline

5. Purposeful Community “Communication leads to community, that is, to understanding, intimacy, and mutual valuing.” Rollo May

6. Purposeful Community “The void created by the failure to communicate is soon filled with poison, drivel, and misinterpretation.” C. Northcote Parkinson

7. Purposeful Community “The ability to communicate clearly and persuasively to the staff, and to the public and policy makers, about what issues are and how they must be handled is essential” Paul Houston

8. Purposeful Community “All that goes right and all that goes wrong in a school district ultimately can be traced back to communication or a lack there of” Krista Parent 2007 National SOY

9. Communication Plan Decades of research shows that the public trusts school employees as the most credible source of information about schools Schools need to better inform and engage internal audiences-Start with a survey!!

10. Communication Plan Goals: • Improve the communication system throughout the district to better support student learning. • Enhance internal and external perceptions of our schools by focusing communications on the factual successes we are experiencing

11. Communication Plan Expectations: • Transparency • Consistent and Clear message • Compelling and Factual Stories • Humor • Always asking who needs to know

12. Leaders as Collaborators Google Doc Create and share your work online with Google Docs Documents—Spreadsheets—Presentations Upload your files from your desktop

13. Leaders as Collaborators Google Doc Access anywhere: Edit and view your docs from any computer Share your work: Real-time collaboration http://www.google.com

14. Leaders as Collaborators delicious-Social Bookmarking The Web is a big place, full of new and interesting things to discover. The problem is finding the good stuff and keeping track of it all. This is where delicious can help.

15. Leaders as Collaborators delicious-Social Bookmarking delicious is a Social Bookmarking service, which means you can save all your bookmarks online, share them with other people, and see what other people are Bookmarking. http://delicious.com/tmitchell1

16. Leaders as Collaborators RSS Feed-Google Reader Have trouble keeping up with the sites you visit? Read them in one place--keeping up with your favorite websites is easy Stay up to date--check your favorite news sites and blogs

17. Leaders as Collaborators RSS Feed-Google Reader Share with your colleagues--easily share interesting items Use it anywhere—it is totally free and works in most modern browsers, without any software to install. http://www.google.com

18. Leaders as Collaborators Wikispaces The word Wiki is a Hawaiian word which means “quick”. It was invented as an easy authoring tool that could promote people to publish. The key words are “quick” and “easy” and a Wiki is a website where anyone can edit anything they want (collaboration)

19. Leaders as Collaborators Wikispaces What can you do with a wiki? Collaborate With Ease Post text, images, files, and more on your wiki. Set Privacy Ensure that only your members can access your wiki's content.

20. Leaders as Collaborators Wikispaces Embed Media Include video, audio, RSS, and anything else you can imagine! Customize Your Look Select from a variety of wiki themes, pick your own colors and logo. http://rcassuperintendent.wikispaces.com/

21. Leaders as Collaborators Linked In LinkedIn, like Facebook, is a networking site. However, unlike Facebook, LinkedIn is specifically a professional networking site that connects people from 170 industries in 200 countries, worldwide. Founded in May 2003, LinkedIn now has over 50 million members

22. Leaders as Collaborators Linked In Its mission, according to the LinkedIn website, is “to connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful,” and to create fast and easy access to both insight and resources that professionals can trust. www.linkedin.com

23. Leaders as Communicators Listen Up: Social Media Makes it Easy Community conversations are being held on the web with or without school leaders’ knowledge. In many communities, listening to our stakeholders has never been easier. Social Media channels provide a valuable assets to a leader trying to understand community values.

24. Leaders as Communicators Online Chatter can be: • Disheartening • Include second guessing • Lack Context

25. Leaders as Communicators But also can: • Give insight • Provide an early warning • Identify knowledge gaps • Identify pathways to stronger community connections

26. Leaders as Communicators The GOOD News: Many school leaders who both listen and participate in social media say that online interactions are overwhelmingly positive. People exchange information and send thanks for getting news in a timely manner.

27. Leaders as Communicators 10 Reasons You Should Pay Attention to Social Media 1-It’s a new way to build relationships 2-It’s no longer about you anyway. It’s about your customers

28. Leaders as Communicators 10 Reasons You Should Pay Attention to Social Media 3-People are already talking about you 4-Your reputation is at stake

29. Leaders as Communicators 10 Reasons You Should Pay Attention to Social Media 5-The response most likely will be positive 6-You don’t have to do it all at once

30. Leaders as Communicators 10 Reasons You Should Pay Attention to Social Media 7-Social media gives you the chance to stay ahead of the curve 8-It’s not going away

31. Leaders as Communicators 10 Reasons You Should Pay Attention to Social Media 9-Social media helps you build community and a sense of ownership among your stakeholders 10-It takes a whole village

32. Leaders as Communicators “Blogging is just one more tool for communication-oriented school leaders. The more avenues you can provide to educate and inform the public about the important issues that affect our schools and our children, the better chance we have of sustaining and improving our public schools.’ Mark Stock

33. Leaders as Communicators Advantages to Blogging: • You control the message • You can respond to traditional media • The message is asynchronous • They increase coverage in traditional media • They build a sense of community www.rcas.org

34. Leaders as Communicators Ways to Use Blogs: • Spread the News • Communicate during an emergency • Monitor progress of ongoing events • Being an activist • Marketing & PR • Letting people know about you • Educating the community

35. Leaders as Communicators Twitter Twitter is part of the Internet’s many social networking outlets. In 2009, Nielsen Inc. ranked Twitter as the fastest growing site in the web’s member community category. www.rcas.org

36. Leaders as Communicators Twitter Twitter differs from other Web-based communications in two ways. These’s a limit of 140 characters per message or “tweet.” Tweets may be accessed by visiting a Twitter page or by creating your own Twitter page and “following” others, getting notices of tweets by persons of your choice.

37. Leaders as Communicators Here are some tips on making your tweets something valuable to followers:Beat the 140 character limit by linking to a web page with more information. Add your Twitter address to your e-mail signature, school district letterhead and website.

38. Leaders as Communicators Here are some tips on making your tweets something valuable to followers: When you issue news releases or parent letters, tweet with a link to your website. When news media outlets print or air a positive story about your district, tweet it, with a link to the story.

39. Leaders as Communicators Here are some tips on making your tweets something valuable to followers: Limit the personal stuff unless you know followers care where you go or who you meet. Do it daily. People value online resources they care about and that are regularly updated.

40. Leaders as Communicators Here are some tips on making your tweets something valuable to followers: Focus on what’s ahead with tweets about upcoming events. Check your followers occasionally. Some Twitter users follow hoping you will follow back. Block them so you can focus on those followers who really matter.

41. Leaders as Communicators Podcasts-Multimedia Publishing for the masses!! One thing is certain-there is an explosion in the last few years of multimedia publishing on the web. www.sasd.org www.rcas.org

42. Leaders as Communicators References: Listen Up: Social Media Makes it Easy 10 Reasons You Should Pay Attention to Social Media Why School Communication Matters: Strategies from PR Professionals Leaders as Communicators and Diplomats Blog, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms

43. Leaders as Communicators The most successful and dynamic administrators in any field have one major attribute in common: they effectively use ever platform available to communicate.